Join us for the Faculty of Education's fall convocation ceremony (Ceremony #1) on Wednesday, October 15, 2025听补迟 10:30 a.m. at Sobey's Stadium (快播视频, Keele campus).

Graduating students from the following faculties and degree/majors are invited to Ceremony #1:

Click here for more details and information.

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At 快播视频鈥檚 Fall Convocation ceremony on the morning of Oct. 16, an honorary degree was presented to financial services executive Mark Beckles, vice-president of social impact and innovation at the Royal Bank of Canada.

After accepting his honorary degree, Beckles spoke to graduands about his move from Barbados to Canada with his wife 34 years ago. The young, ambitious couple chose to relocate to Canada 鈥� where Beckles had lived briefly as a child and where his wife had been born 鈥� because they believed in its promise as a place where their wildest dreams could be fulfilled and their fullest potential could be reached.

The adjustment to Canadian life, however, wasn鈥檛 quite as smooth as they had hoped.

Arriving in Ottawa with a job offer already in hand 鈥� or so he thought 鈥� from one of Canada鈥檚 big banks, Beckles quickly came to understand that the person who hired him remotely hadn鈥檛 realized he was Black.

鈥淭hat was, for me, the first time in my career that I recall being consciously confronted with the ugliness of racism,鈥� said Beckles, 鈥渁nd discovered that I possessed a certain naivety that I would need to quickly shed.鈥�

The job offer was revoked, and Beckles was left, disheartened, to navigate an unfamiliar career landscape in a new country. Yet, he remained hopeful that better opportunities would come his way. And they did.

One week later, while waiting in a freezing-cold Ottawa bus shelter on their way to church, Beckles and his wife were offered a ride from a kind woman in a sky-blue Oldsmobile. One brief conversation later and she was introducing Beckles to a man who would help him gain the Canadian work experience he needed to land a job in his field 鈥� and would end up becoming a lifelong friend and mentor in the process.

鈥淭hey did not judge me on the color of my skin or the thickness of my accent,鈥� Beckles said of the generous strangers who came into his life that day and helped set him on a path to success that has continued since.

鈥淚鈥檝e had an inexplicably phenomenal career in Canada,鈥� he continued. 鈥淒espite the dark inclinations of some people, opportunity has come my way through hard work 鈥� yes 鈥� but also with the support and allyship of people, most of whom look nothing like me.鈥�

It is for those reasons and many others that Beckles continues to believe in the promise of Canada and its people, and its potential to become the just and inclusive society he imagined when he arrived here all those years ago.

鈥淐anadians remain, for me, the brightest of lights,鈥� he said, 鈥渁nd I know that my Canadian journey is not unique, and that many of you within an earshot of my speech can relate to my experiences 鈥� You can see yourself in part of my story 鈥� someone saying no to you, followed by others, plural, who say yes to you.鈥�

His message to graduands was clear: to remain optimistic about the future despite the setbacks and challenges that are sure to come their way, just as they did for him.

鈥淪ometimes, in a world that surrenders to its own darkest impulses, you too must be among the brightest of lights,鈥� he said, 鈥淩egardless of faith, identity, culture or tongue, we are all huddled and masked in this intersectional moment on lands upon which we are mostly all settlers just trying to belong, and that requires of us a new courage and a new commitment to a shared prosperity.鈥�

Article originally published in the October 18, 2024 issue of Yfile

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Join us for the Faculty of Education's fall convocation ceremony (Ceremony #1) on Wednesday, October 16, 2024 at 10:30 a.m. at Sobey's Stadium (快播视频, Keele campus).

Graduating students from the following faculties and degree/majors are invited to Ceremony #1:

Click here for more details and information.

The post Fall Convocation appeared first on Faculty of Education.

Reeta Roy, president and CEO of the Mastercard Foundation 鈥� an international non-governmental organization focused on empowering young Africans with education 鈥� offered several calls-to-action to Faculty of Education graduands to help shape the future of education.

鈥淵ou have an entire lifetime of impact ahead of you,鈥� Roy promised graduands during their June 17 convocation, as she began her address to them. 鈥淲hether you stand in front of the classroom or you get to decide what is taught in the classroom, whether you focus on expanding access to education or you set standards of education, you will make a difference in the lives of learners.鈥�

An advocate for the transformational power of education through her work at the Mastercard Foundation, Roy made several requests of graduands as they move ahead in their careers.

She urged them to lean into one of the most important qualities teachers can possess. 鈥淎s educators, one of the most important things you do 鈥� and you will do 鈥� is to recognize promise and talent in others, even before they may perceive it in themselves,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou have the opportunity to truly see the whole person 鈥� not the boundaries and not the limitations around them.鈥�

That, she explained, can lead to something educators are uniquely positioned to do. 鈥淢ore than just see them, you will enable their passions, develop their confidence and help them believe in themselves so they can walk their own journeys and create their own opportunities,鈥� said Roy.

She also called upon graduands to transform the reality of who deserves an education, as she noted there are many who struggle to access learning due to poverty, conflict, distance, disability, lack of teachers, gender and more.

Roy noted she has seen 鈥� and worked to change 鈥� this directly, through her work with the Mastercard Foundation, which advances the development of educational opportunities for African youth and their families, and looks to empower 30 million young Africans by 2030 with the creation of educational and economic opportunities.

Roy delivered her final call to action in the form of an anecdote. She recounted a trip to Moosonee, a small town in northern Ontario sometimes referred to as 鈥渢he gateway to the Arctic.鈥� She was doing work there with the Weeneebayko Area Health Authority, training Indigenous young people to become health professionals who would help the larger medical system embody Indigenous knowledge and world views about what is healthy and what is wellness.

During her visit, she encountered 鈥� in person, for the first time 鈥� an ice road.

She learned that during winters, communities transform rivers, lakes and other bodies of water into ice that鈥檚 strong enough to sustain trucks and cars transporting food, fuel and necessities to otherwise isolated communities. 鈥淚 was just stunned by the sophistication and the technical know-how to create these roads,鈥� Roy said. 鈥淭he ice road reflected Indigenous technology based on traditional knowledge of living with the natural environment.鈥�

At the same time, she marvelled at the cutting-edge knowledge being integrated into the unique type of infrastructure. As climate change threatens those ice roads, making it hard to predict where dangerous cracks might form, she learned that university researchers are applying emerging technologies 鈥� like sensors and artificial intelligence 鈥� to create better predictive models that can identity where cracks and ridges may form.

The ice road 鈥� its past, present and future 鈥� reminded Roy of education. 鈥淭he ice road isn鈥檛 just a bridge across waters,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a bridge connecting communities and cultures. It鈥檚 a bridge connecting traditional knowledge with new forms of knowledge, connecting the past and the present.鈥�

In that realization, she found the lesson she wanted to impart on the Faculty of Education graduands she was addressing. 鈥淵ou can be that bridge,鈥� she urged. 鈥淏e that bridge.鈥�

Article originally published in the June 21, 2024 issue of

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During the Faculty of Education convocation ceremony for the Class of 2022 that took place on June 10, Indigenous Elder Duke Redbird delivered a moving and passionate address about Mother Earth, strawberries and universities, and the enduring spirit of a mentor.

The month of June is National Indigenous History Month and in the Indigenous calendar it is also Ode Miin Giizus or Strawberry Moon. June is also a time of new beginnings for 快播视频 students as they receive their degrees and embark on the next stage in their lives.

So it was fitting that during Ode Miin Giizus, the renowned poet, actor, journalist and Indigenous Elder, Duke Redbird (MA 鈥�78), returned to 快播视频 to receive an honorary doctor of laws degree. In his convocation address that he delivered through poetry and a story, Elder Redbird spoke of the importance of strawberries, universities, the nourishment that knowledge provides and the enduring spirit of a mentor to a young strawberry heart.

Elder Redbird began by reciting his celebrated poem 鈥�,鈥� which speaks to the essential sustenance and love that Mother Earth provides to all living creatures and the importance of sustaining and protecting her against the perils of climate change. With this poetic setting in place, Elder Redbird, in acknowledgement of Ode Miin Giizus, observed that 鈥渢he strawberry is shaped like a heart. This fruit is associated with the teaching of 鈥榯ruth.鈥� And unlike every other fruit, the seeds of the strawberries are on the surface, and we humans, like these seeds, occupy the surface of the Earth.鈥�

He noted that universities could also be described as strawberries of knowledge 鈥渢hat require the human heart with the desire for the truth to be nourishing and successful.鈥�

Referring to his own strawberry heart, he told the story of how in 1975, he was interviewed by 快播视频 politics Professor Ed Dosman (now professor emeritus) for his research on Indigenous life and culture. For the young Redbird, who was then 36 years old, Dosman鈥檚 interview was one of many he had completed with academics who were researching Indigenous Peoples. 鈥淚 was regarded as a primitive source at the worst, and a layman without a formal education at best,鈥� said Elder Redbird, noting the interviews that quoted him were then used by researchers to acquire degrees and publish papers and yet his knowledge, which was so freely and truthfully shared, was not credited or cited as a source, a visceral concern he relayed to Dosman.

After this conversation, Dosman introduced Redbird to David Bell, then a professor in both political science and environmental studies at 快播视频 and a globally recognized expert in learning for a sustainable future. Dosman and Bell offered to sponsor Redbird as a mature student to pursue a master鈥檚 degree. 鈥淲ith the support of Professor Christopher Innis, the founder of the master鈥檚 degree program in Interdisciplinary Studies at 快播视频, I was accepted as a candidate,鈥� he said.

In the years that followed, enriched with the gifts of knowledge, friendship and mentorship from Bell, the young Redbird鈥檚 strawberry heart was nourished and ripened. 鈥淥n a June day, much like today in 1978, 44 years ago, I was the only recipient of a master鈥檚 degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from 快播视频,鈥� said Elder Redbird.

Decades later, it was with a full strawberry heart that Elder Redbird once again turned to Bell. 鈥淒r. David Bell passed in 2017. I wrote 鈥極ur Mother The Earth鈥� in 2020 during COVID-19. In my heart of hearts, I choose to believe that my friend David Bell co-authored the poem with me and was there in spirit when I recited it to a global audience last fall at the COP26 conference on Global Warming.鈥� Poetry like science share many of the same insights and create new ways of thinking about the world, said Elder Redbird, who credited the theoretical physicist Carlos Rovelli with the original comparison. Elder Redbird asked the graduands to nourish their own hearts and minds by thinking of 鈥渘ature as an Earth verse, like the Universe written by the Creator as beautiful, epic poem to embrace our spirits with love throughout our lifetimes.鈥�

In closing his graceful story, Elder Redbird reminded all gathered for the convocation ceremony to continue to feed their own quest for knowledge because they too would eventually become ancestors. 鈥淪even generations from now, the grandchildren of your grandchildren will be seeking the wisdom that you have learned and passed on in your lifetime,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 want to wish you every conceivable success as you continue to harvest the fruits of your enlightenment that may not have been tasted yet.鈥�

Article originally published in the June 14, 2022 issue of

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快播视频 will honour Faculty of Education Professor Sharon Murphy for her outstanding research contributions to the University with a 2022 University Professorship. It will be recognized and celebrated during Spring Convocation.

A University Professor is a member of faculty recognized for extraordinary participation and contribution to university life, as well as scholarship and teaching success. The award is conferred upon long-serving tenured faculty members who have made extraordinary contributions to the University as colleagues, teachers and scholars.

Such achievement fulfills the following requirements: significant long-term contribution to the development or growth of the University or of its parts; significant participation in the collegium through mentorship, service and/or governance; sustained impact over time on the University鈥檚 teaching mission; and recognition as a scholar.

Murphy, who currently serves as associate dean, academic in the Faculty of Education, is an esteemed scholar and educator in early childhood language and literacy studies, in learning assessment and in the role of play and creativity in learning and child development. 

鈥淎mong the highest lifetime honours a university can bestow on faculty, the University Professorship is awarded to Sharon Murphy to recognize her extraordinary contributions to York and to the communities we serve,鈥� says Rhonda L. Lenton, 快播视频 president and vice-chancellor. 鈥淎 truly outstanding scholar with significant research impact and a devoted academic leader, Sharon鈥檚 many achievements and unfailing allegiance to York鈥檚 core social justice values 鈥� as well as her tireless work to prepare the next generation of Faculty of Education students 鈥� is a deep inspiration to all. Sharon is simply the best of us, and this honour is so richly deserved.鈥� 

Murphy joined 快播视频 in 1988 after a career in education in Newfoundland and Labrador. During her time at York, she has held several leadership roles including: director of the Graduate Program in Education; associate dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies; undergraduate program director. She has also served as a coordinator for two graduate diplomas, and in 2020, stepped into the role of interim dean of the Faculty of Education during a challenging time in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Many of her contributions to the Faculty of Education revolve around her scholarly interests, including: the development of courses at the graduate and undergraduate levels; the development of graduate diplomas in early childhood education and in language and literacy; supervision of a significant number of graduate students; and a long history of active participation and leadership in local, national and international scholarly associations. 

As graduate program director, she participated on several committees to establish the Faculty of Education Doctoral Program and played an essential role in growing the program by expanding course offerings and diversifying the Faculty鈥檚 Summer Institute. She also co-developed the first Type 2 and 4 graduate diplomas offered at York, and is renowned for her work in co-developing and coordinating diplomas in early childhood education and language literacy. She supported the development of the first Graduate Students鈥� Guidebook for faculty and students, which continues to serve as the roadmap for students on their journey through their degrees. 

As well, at the completion of her term as graduate program director, she served as associate dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies where she turned her attention to the renewal of collegial governance structures and worked with graduate program directors, program staff and graduate students to come up with processes and procedures that ensure fairness, accountability, transparency and continuity. 

鈥淎s I have served the University in different capacities over the years, the thing that I have learned is how complex our institution is and how motivated staff and faculty are to have the lives we live here exemplify our motto 鈥� Tentanda via 鈥� the way must be tried 鈥� which is a wonderful testament to us all,鈥� said Murphy. 

Her strategic leadership has greatly benefitted the 快播视频 community; Murphy has actioned several initiatives that align with York鈥檚 commitments to decolonization in education, equity, diversity and inclusion. She led the intensification and expansion of hiring Indigenous faculty, and also appointed a special advisor on anti-Black racism and inclusion. 

She is described by her nominators as an unfailing, trustworthy, and deeply fair leader who puts the University, and the Faculty of Education, first. 

Article from the June 8, 2022 issue of

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